Junked
Summary: The end of the Juice? As the Junkions battle the Autobots and Decepticons on Junk, the puppetmasters behind the curtain are revealed. Assembly Plant Directly north of the entertainment district lies the industrial zone, belying a literal translation of the "all work and no play" maxim. This area is starkly vacant, save for one enormous, sprawling grey building with ominous black smokestacks; across the front of the building, in giant white lettering, is the word "ACME". Scanner guy says, "Hey Autobots, we're picking up large Decepticon activity heading towards Junk. Want to check it out?" Lee-Zard says, "Take me, Lee-Zard with you! Lee-Zard needs to go home!" Rodimus Prime says, "Uhh... As soon as I get back to Metroplex. Thanks for the heads up, Scanner Guy." Junkion Radio Broadcast says, "It's a TRAP...." Scanner guy says, "Thanks for the recognition Prime!" Colonel Marissa says, "Hello Lee-Zard. How are you feeling?" Rodimus Prime says, "You are an asset to this organization, Scanner Guy." Lee-Zard says, "Hihi! Lee-Zard is feelin' better now, but still has some corrupted memory files. But me need to help friends at home on Junk!" Colonel Marissa says, "I'm glad you're doing better. We'll all help you on Junk." Rodimus Prime says, "I don't see why not." Kup says, "I'll swing by the city on my way to Junk. Anyone else who can come along should assemble at the landing pad." Colonel Marissa says, "Roger that, Kup." Junk! Planet of a thousand pieces of Junk, a mishmash of a thousand civilisations all in one annoying package. Currently there is a hive of activity around the Cineplex construction site, with thousands of Junkions swarming around the half-built Cityformer, though no 'name' Junkions. Others are closer, working on piles of junk that spill out of landing Garbage Pods and move along a conveyor belt into a hole in the ground. More pods launch into the air to parts unknown. Thick cloud cover masks this area of Junkion from the air, due to the intense industrial work going on. /Intense/ Galvatron rides in Cyclonus because Cyclonus is a sweet ride and technically was created for just that purpose, so it would be a shame not to use him as such. "The so-called 'planet' of Junk is coming into range! Decepticons, split off into two formations! Strategic Air Wing, devastate their facilities! Tactical forces, come with me! We will punish the Junkions more personally!" transmits Galvatron, as he slides the canopy open over the planet- quite capable of making planetfall under his own power, now that he's here. "Decepticons... ATTACK!" Cyclonus blazes down through what would be called the atmosphere of Junkion if it had one, his engine cowlings fully opened to allow himself to blaze forward at top speed, as he dips himself lower to the ground as his canopy opens in order to give Galvatron less far to jump. "Your word is the law, Lord Galvatron!" Soundwave, being presumably one of the Tactical forces, flies after Galvatron, arms straight out ahead of him. "Yes, Lord Galvatron," he emits. "The Junkions appear to have been taken by surprise," he states, assessing the Junkion emplacements with his usual clinical detachment. Rock'N'Roll Express arrives, not wearing any disguise or anything special. He happens to be on the look out and that is it. The sweeps break off from the main group, moving in their own direction at a V-formation. It is difficult, perhaps impossible, to discern who is who with their near identical Sweepcraft modes. However, there is one Sweep at point that could be no other. Without verbal commands they follow Scourge's lead. "Lord Galvatron has spoken!" The others resound with their own cry. "Hail Lord Galvatron!" Their noses glow an ominous crimson at breaking atmospheric entry. Their optical interface and scanners lock on to the industrial facilites ahead, Scourge assigning each with a respective target in order of priority so that they may work together as a unit. Galvatron dives through the thin haze around the hemispherical planetoid, armor merely warm instead of glowing cherry red as it might in the thicker atmosphere of Earth. Surprise? Maybe? Or maybe not, for as the Decepticons break the cloud cover, they would see the sight of hundreds upon hundreds of Junkions in the air, flapping with Hawkman wings like something out of Flash Gordon. Waving a sword at the front of them, a large Junkion with a robo-beard, Blessed gives the should "Squadrons 1-20! DIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!" And then like a thick flock of birds, they fly towards the invaders, one unit led by a flying Microslave lunging towards the Sweeps, laser guns blasting away, another squad led by Murdeer and flanked by Missile-Toe and Slayride aim towards the main force, some of the Junkions carrying limpet mines that they fully intend on attaching to any Decepticon shuttles! The Autobot Shuttle Ol' Rusty arrives over the planet Junk shortly after the Decepticon strike force. Handled with expert care, the large orange ship swiftly pierces the thin atmosphere and swoops, like some predatory bird, towards the construction site. "Hang on tight, kids!" Kup bellows to his passengers. "We're coming in hot and hard, just like the Seductive Meteors of the Eoster Nebula!" The shuttle does indeed seem to be coming in rather faster than would be safe. <> Fusillade complains, transforming briefly to wipe the pollution off her canopy and goggles. With toes pointed down, she hmmphs at bit as she sizes up those that streak past in formation. The Sweeps, good. Noting their trajectories, she soars back into the lurking high altitudes, tailing them -- no need for them to get caught under her special stores. With a grunt, she transforms back with some effort, and the ominous 'chak-CHAKT!' sounds out from bay doors opening. And then, <> She lets fly with the carbon reinforced tungsten rods. Nothing special. No electronics to jam, they simply trail out of her bomb bay, wobble a bit in the air, before gravity clutches them, drawing them point first to the ground. It doesn't matter what they hit -- Junkion, construction site, ground -- there's bound to be a mess. There's a detectable decrease in ambient light reaching the ground as they whistle down. Marissa is on the Ol' Rusty, having been picked up by Kup and company at Autobot City. The Colonel is going through the final prep checklist on her Warthog. It's a new model of exo-suit that she hasn't had a chance to use in live combat yet. Overhearing Kup's shout, Marissa glances towards the cockpit. "Alright, you must be making THAT one up," she protests. Truly, if Kup has seen seductive meteors, then he has seen -everything- there is to see in the universe. Cyclonus shuts his canopy closed again as Galvatron leaps free of his cockpit, a faint hiss coming from the canopy seam as it shuts tight, before Cyclonus angles himself upward toward the advancing airborne Junkion as his lasers blaze at them from underneath in order to scatter and hopefully punch a whole through the mass of Junkions. Those with the limpet mines are a particular target for Cyclonu's weapons. Galvatron adjusts his own ballistic trajectory with the rockets (NOT VERNIERS) that he uses when there isn't significant gravity for his repulsors to push off of, so that he's falling towards the Junkion air brigade. "Give no quarter!" shouts Galvatron into his radio, blazing away with his cannon at the Junkions as they appear before him, particularly Missile-Toe... who knows what those toes are capable of? Lee-Zard does as Kup says, holding on for dear life to the headrest of his chair. His ultra-clingy fingers and toes helping him to not fall off as the Ol' Rusty plummets towards Junkion's surface. "Wheee! Do it again!" Lee-Zard says happily, while still clinging fearfulyl to his seat. From Autobot Shuttle Ol' Rusty, Nightbeat is just still on the shuttle. He's gotten patched up a little bit by a little medical drone that has lots of arms but otherwise looks like a floorlamp. "Thank God I didn't have so sit in that robacta tank again..." SOME YEARS AGO A mostly naked Nightbeat floats in a Robacta tank, while his comrades look on. "He's lucky you cut open your Grimlock and shoved Nightbeat inside, Springer, or he wouldn't have lasted the night..." NOW "Haven't been here in a while... Did you bring my shotgun, Prime?" Soundwave is suitably alarmed at seeing the... Junkion Hawkmen!? And hundreds of them, no less! "What? How did they know we were going to attack? Who compromised our security?" He turns about in mid-air to glare menacingly at some Decepticon gumbies who had been following him. "It.. it wasn't us, Soundwave!" one of them cries. "It had better not be any of you! This operation will be significantly more difficult now!" Turning to face the Junkions again, Soundwave lets loose into their ranks with concussion rifle shots. He internally debates whether or not to launch his tapes. This whole situation is confusing enough as it is. As the bombs scatter onto the ground, some of the Junkions around the sorting area run for cover, diving behind various mounds of rubbish for cover. A forcefield suddenly springs up around the Mr Juicy booth to protect its delicious contents, and a Junkion pushes up a gigantic cannon. Another Junkion, Evil KniEvil puts on a helmet, and cackling, leaps into the barrel, where he is fired high, his trajectory taking him directly towards Fusillade! "No Quarter?" squeaks a Junkion in a cloth hat, called Twist. "But sir, I want MORE!" The Junkion, flapping on his hawk wings, starts to fire with a tommygun at the Decepticon leader, and is soon joined by more of his compatriats. The Autobot arrival has not been ignored either, the Junkions treating them the same as the Decepticons, with Blessed himself leading the flight against the shuttle, the Junkions intent on boarding it before it reaches the planets surface! The V-formation of sweeps remain steady in their course despite the incoming band of aerial Junkions fast approaching to engage. They make no move otherwise until Scourge gives the word. "Break off and engage this nuisance accordingly." He doesn't expect the winged Junkions to provide much of a resistance, but their presence is a harassment to their focused fire of the structures none-the-less. Scourge has spoken, and so it is done. The sweeps transform into their alternate anthropomorphic form and clash with the defenders. Scourge himself moves for the Junkion's own squadron leader, Microslave. "This one is mine!" Galvatron hits the soft, rusty ground with a crunch, immediately kicks a Junkion into one of the molten craters from the kinetic-kill bombardment, and rakes his beam across an onrushing wave of them. Shrapnel flies everywhere, but as usual almost all of the "dead" Junkions start to reassemble themselves several seconds after being destroyed. "Soundwave!" shouts Galvatron, making a lane towards him with his morningstar, flinging Junkions left and right like the embodied Sauron in the awesome intro part with young Elrond. "Are you able to produce a counter-frequency to disrupt that forcefield around the juice machine?" Rock'N'Roll Express moves his boxcar into position so he can take cover if need be. He doesn't want to get involved, just yet. Ol' Rusty's hangar opens, unfurling a wide, flexible ladder. The shuttle continues to fly towards the construction site, lasers already firing on the Decepticons and, when one of them attacks, the Junkions. <> Kup transmits over the loudspeaker. <> To his passengers, Kup jerks his head towards the ladders. "Last stop, lads and lasses! Time to show ol' Kup your moves!" Junkion Radio Broadcast says, "Rodimus Prime Hot Pants... I am going to destroy the juice machine!" Rodimus Prime says, "Uh, good!" Rodimus Prime says, "Can you encrypt this channel, by the way?" Colonel Marissa helps Rodimus out in case he wasn't sure, "Yes, good." From Autobot Shuttle Ol' Rusty, "I hope both of you know this won't be the end of the Juice," Nightbeat says to Kup and Rodimus, cocking the shotgun he pulls from the antler rack on the shuttle wall. "It doesn't come from here. These Junkions are just an unfortunate, annoying, god awful biproduct." With that, Nightbeat climbs down to the ladder. And then they threaten the juice. Such a thing draws aggro from Wreck-Gar. Such a thing causes trouble tales between two cities.. and such a thing threatens the very fabric of reality as we know it! Even if no, it does not. But charging from his home world, to meet the offworlders, it's as if a large chunk of the planet itself rips itself up, and forwards. "Galvatron! Two scoops of Junkions weren't enough for you, so you came for a refund? Well, good sir, I tip my hat to you ... but Baby!... We have a rule around these parts... ALL SALES ARE FINAL! Take your posse and head out to the wild blue yonder, Wild Bill, or else you'll miss your plane. And you're getting on that plane.. baby!" He stands tall, sparking a bit still from the last encounter. But he arrives like the rest of the Junkions. "Autobots at six' o clock!? But they haven't even reserved a table!" If Galvatron is Sauron then Cyclonus is the lord of the Nazgul, angling himself to slide easily through the gap he created in the ranks of airborne Junkions, before he turns and flies toward the rear of the formation. He suddenly transforms, flipping around, before making his way rapidly toward one of the limpet carrying Junkions who he is on in an instant. He punches the Junkion across the side of his face before grabbing hold of the Junkion's forearms and pushing them toward the Junkion causing the mine to adhere itself to the unfortunate Jumkion's stomach before Cyclonus pushes them backward against the ranks behind him as he aims his disruptor and fires a shot toward the mine as he backs away. The mine detonates, obliterating the Junkions nearby, and setting off subsidary explosions in the mines nearby. Leet says, "Blutch Broadcast!" The concussive force from the kinetic rods vaporizing themselves against the forcefield rattles the area as Fusillade soars past, still in the air. That doesn't stopped the winged Junkions from trying to intercept her. There's a few cracks and clanks as they whallop her wingroots, and a spray of bolts and iron oxides from one getting sliced open by her. That struggle delays her from her second pass, particularly when she sees EVEL! headed her way. It's with a squawk that she veers off far and wide, but it's not in time! With a CLUNK! the Junkion makes contact, and begins to busily attempt to hack away at her. <> She transforms to robot mode, and backhands him -- or at least attempts to -- with the heavy, folded flat of her left wingblade. Rock'N'Roll Express moves into position closer to where Soundwave is. The Junkion seems to be in contact with Decepticons to be willing to get THAT close. He emits a radio sequence to his... um... comrades. "Soundwave, your boss has given me orders to assist you in taking on the juice factory. I'm on your side for just that. Once we do it, you leave. Deal?" Yeah, the Junkion train is dealing with the devil to save his people. From Autobot Shuttle Ol' Rusty, "Well, you know what the humans say about when you assume, right, Nightbeat?" Rodimus Prime retorts, throwing up his safety harness over his head and getting out of the copilot chair. He pulls an ammo belt from the shuttle's rack and tosses it to Nightbeat. "Remember: The Junkions are our brothers. Good as Autobots to me. Fight back if you have to, but no execution shots. Is that clear?" He moves to the shuttle's open bay door, hands bracing on the edge and glancing over his scooped shoulder at Nightbeat. Junkion Radio Broadcast is on a secure private frequency, "Rodimus, Galvatron and I are going to be working together to take on the juice factory. Please be advised to make sure I am not going to be labelled a traitor to you." The Junkions move as one towards the Sweeps, blasting out bullets and lasers and whirling socks with half a brick in them. Microslave opens his chest, deadly rays of Microwave energy arcing out towards Scourge. "Beep beep, defrost time in 10!" he shouts, his timer counting down the seconds until his deadly Defrost Attack! What will Scourge do? As Autobots start to descend from their ship, winged Junkions land all around, grasping onto the wings and trying to attach mines. One Junkion in particular flies straight at Nightbeat, looking to throw him to the ground. He is a dark avenger, he is... NIGHTBOAT! Some of the airborne Junkions explode as Cyclonus shoots at them, but then from directly above Cyclonus descends a terrifying sight - that of Barnakill, who has little hawk wings strapped to him too, flapping as he tries to latch on to the Decepticon! Radio DJ Broadcast says, "Wreck-Gar, we need to talk!" Rodimus Prime says, "Just be careful. He's probably going to shoot you if/when you destroy it. Just a heads up." Marissa steps up into the Warthog. The bulky suit of armour activates, and after a few lumbering steps, Marissa is moving in it like she moves in her own skin. Marissa could now stands eye-to-eye with Bumblebee height-wise. It's an improvement. The Warthog's thick armoured legs propel the EDC Colonel out of the hanger and onto the ladder, right after Nightbeat. Hanging on briefly, Marissa lets go and falls the remaining distance to the ground, landing in a crouch. The laser bazooka on Marissa's right arm is already warmed up. Heavy bolts of energy fly from the weapon Quickswitch says, "...? ....?! ....What's--" Junkion Radio Broadcast says, "To die with honor is fine with me." Soundwave nods to Galvatron as he lands as well, albeit more gently. "I will examine the results of Fusillade's kinetic bombardment," he declares. Pointing his scanner at the field, he watches the screen closely as the rods slam into the field with brliliant flashes of color and light. And even as he does this, he follows behind Galvatron, keeping his head down low since his leader is in full berserker mode. Indeed, that mace whooshes over his head rather frequently. Soundwave doesn't turn as Broadcast addresses him. "I am already aware of the deal you have made with Lord Galvatron. Protect me from harm. Also, you are to address me as Commander Soundwave," he says. He presses a few buttons on his scanner, calibrating the results. Strangely, the Junkions working on Cinaplex don't react at all to the battle, they just keep working away as they always have been. Evel Knieval manages to latch onto Fusillade, and then shoots his ring of fire gun directly in front of the Decepticon. "Jump that!" he shouts, as he transforms into a swish bike, leaping through the fire that is directly in front of them both Rodimus Prime says, "I'd rather nobody died." Cyclonus swaps his gun for his sword as he turns to look toward Barnakill as the bulky Junkion approaches before Cyclonus stretches out a hand to beckons toward Barnakill. "Come, challenge me if you wish...better constructed machines then yourself have tried...and failed." He raises his sword in a salute before flying forward suddenly with his sword pointed at Barnakill chests in an attempt to run him through. Rodimus Prime says, "Really." Quickswitch says, "--Let--me--OUT! Damn you!" Rodimus Prime says, "Where are you, Quickswitch?" Before Nightboat attacks him, Nightbeat looks to Rodimus. "I'm not some sort of loose-cannon, murder-factory baby killer, Prime. I'm what's called an Autobot. Look into it!" He catches the ammo belt, wraps it around his chest... and is tackled by Nightboat. "Eghn... Nighboat? I thought we left you back at the morgue..." Nightbeat groans, trying to hitt Nightboat in the face with the butt of his robo shotgun. A DAY AGO Nightbeat and Raindance are in the morgue. Of a Junkion space station. "All of them are Juice contaminated, adn none of them lasted for more than three months with the Juice in their systems... but their hyperactive Junkion metabolisms might have had something to do with i--" Nightbeat pauses as Raindance is shot by Nightboat, who also enters the morgue. "No tresspassing!" "Oh my this is not a good place for a Raindance. Heroic Autbot Detectives, which is only me, retreat!" Raindance says. He transforms into Salmdance's legs and runs out of the morgue. NOW Nightbeat is fighting Nightboat, still. Rock'N'Roll Express smirks, "And call me Lieutenant Crunch... actually, I got advanced in rank. I am now Captain. So adress me but that, Commander Shoebox." Yeah, Broadcast is a prick and not afraid to be one. "With our radio powers combine, we form... Soundcast... defender of the good music!" He circles around Soundwave, towing his boxcar around to try and block off attacks. As the other Sweeps engage their targets, so does Scourge. The leader of the hunting party moves in for his own personal kill, Microslave. As the Junkion retorts in their usual unintelligeble speech, Scourge says nothing. Microslave's torso opens, but Scourge continues to rush in, either unaware of the incoming microwaves or apathetic towards it. He bares his fangs and claws, thrusting his hands forward to clasp like a vice around the Junkion's neck. Quickswitch says, "Rodimus Prime! They've put me in the lab.." Quickswitch says, "What's happening out there?" Barnakill may be slow, but he makes up for it with very, very thick armour. Ridiculously slow. Little tentacles start to whip out from his top as his suction cups ready to latch. From behind Cyclonus another Junkion, Sharky flaps up, his own Shark-Clamps ready to hook onto the Decepticon from the other side. This doesn't look good! Rodimus Prime says, "Why? What happened?" "They tried and failed?" asks Kwiz-Ats, pausing in battling Decepticons to address a taller Junkion female nearby with the most amazing headdress. "They tried and died!" replies Moe-Haim, charging at Galvatron with her poisoned spike-arm at the ready! Quickswitch says, "I don't have /time/ to go into it right now! What is the situation where you are?? Excuse me, Prime..." Kup says, "You need to recover, lad." "Cinderblock!" cries Blessed as he sees Broadcast defending Soundwave. "Take out that traitor!" At this, a huge Junkion with tiny little hawkwings transforms into the form of a gigantic cinderblock, stops flying and drops like a brick towards Broadcast and Soundwave. Oh my! Ol' Rusty swoops into the battle in the sky, lasers blazing and targeting the Sweeps in particular. Inside, Kup's fingers look anything but ancient as they fly across the control panel, tapping buttons, pulling levers and skillfully moving the joystick where it needs to go, all with exactly as much energy and force is required. No more, no less. There's the ghost of a smile on his corroded face. IN THE NOT-TOO-DISTANT PAST: CYBERTRON... Hot Rod walks up to Optimus Prime, smirking widely and offering him his hand. "So you're my boss now, huh?" "Yes. You're one of the new Autobots -- Hot Rod, is it?" "Damn straight, Optimus. You'd better remember that name, too. I'm the latest, greatest thing to come off the assembly lines! Fastest Autobot on four wheels, and the best shot in the Academy." He laughs, winking at Optimus. "I'll be gunning for your job soon if you don't look out. I can't WAIT to get out there and blast Decepticons!" "Hot Rod... I appreciate your enthusiasm. But war is no game... It's not fun. I hope you never have to terminate anyone, Decepticon or not." "C'mon, Optimus! This is what I was MADE for! I am Hot slaggin' Rod!" NOW... Rodimus tumbles out of the shuttle, landing waist-deep in Junk -- which is actually severed limbs of Junkions who had resisted the Juice Coup. "Primus in the Pit," he curses. He raises an arm blaster just in time to blast a Junkion soldier in the chest -- using low power to only disable his circuits. Quickswitch breathes a bit harder through his vents, but relents, replying much quieter, "You're right, sir... But, what if you require backup?" Cyclonus is not that slow, however, as he quickly moves out of his way as the tentacles start to rapidly make their way toward him. He slices through a bunch of them with his sword before reaching forward, grabbing hold of a handful of them, before stretching them forward to slap them against Barnakill's face. Junkion Radio Broadcast says, "Soundwave has proven to be an asteroid." TWO SECOONDS AGO: Marissa Faireborn trudges through the Junkions. If they haven't a name then she's fully capable of kicking their butts. Being near Nightbeat, Marissa moves to assist the Autobot detective, seeking to get a clear shot on Nightboat. Galvatron whirls like a dervish with a giant spinning electrified glowing flail, crushing Moe-Haim's spike-arm before she can deliver her deadly poison. She reaches behind her back with her remaining arm, where Junkions normally keep everything ranging from painted wooden signs saying 'Uh-oh' to giant Cliffjumper-ish shoulder cannons, and brings out a box, thrusting it towards Galvatron menacingly. "What's in the box?" demands Galvatron, raising his shock mace over his head. "Pain," replies Moe-Haim. "You old fool!" replies Galvatron, bringing the mace smashing down to crush the elderly Junkifemme into the rusty ground. "I can kill with a word! Now bring me that floating fat man, Banquo!" From Autobot Shuttle Ol' Rusty, Andi Lassiter stays in the shuttle with Kup, mostly because she doesn't want her inept exo-unit skills to make her more of a liability than a help. Kup says, "If we can't handle it, you're the first mech I'll call." ock'N'Roll Express leave Soundwave in danger of the block. He wasn't too pleased with the way things are going. "You'll have to take two seconds and just shoot the fragging brick. I'm a little busy. Either jump on board and try and provide cover for me as I do the same for you, alright Mister Poopiepants?" If anyone was to listen, the bullet train is blasting Ozzy Osborne's 'Crazy Train.' Quickswitch says, "I'll be waiting, sir." Meanwhile, Kwiz-Ats is after Rodimus. He runs up within twenty yards of the Autobot leader, holds out one hand, and shouts, "shaaaaa-CHA!" A sonic wave blasts out with surprising force towards Rodimus! Rodimus Prime says, "Autobots, report in. I got distracted -- Erk!!" Nightbeat says, "Fighting my evil Doppleganger... pretty much what I expected." Barnakill stuggles against Cyclonus as the Decepticon hacks at him, but this means that Sharky has a clear run at Cyclonus's back, shark clamp snapping open and shut hungrily. Kup's shuttle is not going unmolested. As he flies, Junkions keep attacking little mines onto the side, which blossing into explosions. And then with a roar, a huge sandworm-like creature wearing a porkpie hat, and with little strapon Hawkman wings explodes onto the scene, tail whipping at the shuttle. Dr_Hildago.exe is back! Nightboat transforms to boat mode, hovering in the air, and then drives straight for Nightbeat in an attempt to knock him to the ground. "We're taking your badge early, you maverick!" he intones menacingly, a red light sweeping back and forth across his front. Rodimus Prime says, "I'd almost be honored by the homage if they weren't trying to kill us." Kup says, "Engaging the Sweeps up here in the sky. They're as... fearsome... as ever." Kup chuckles. Quickswitch says, "What's happening?!" Qua-Ran runs after Soundwave. He has a torch in his hands and seems to be covered with explosives that he's about to light. "Allah! Time for my many, many virgin olive oil cans!" Wreck-Gar stands his ground, moving in closer, heading past the Decepticons this time and towards the Autobots.. and Marissa. "Mother of Mergatroy! They're all here!" And with Galvatron there, Rodimus Prime nearby, there's few things that could be missing.. but Wreck-Gar refuses to hang back. "It's all in the family, but you're about to be canceled! Don't bleed onto our time, or the game will be canceled..FRIENDS, ROMANS, GIVE ME your full un avoided attention because we're about to ROCK THIS HOUSE!" Marissa, unfortunately, seems to be his target, the energy axe swinging towards her as he closes in, the gauss blaster firing off towards Nightbeat. Clearly, he means serious business. As the boat with wheels, the villanous Nightboat crashes into Nightbeat, he falls to the ground, shotgun escaping his grip and drowning in a sea of junk. "I thought I put you on ice, Nightboat..." ONE DAY AGO: As Nightbeat and Nightboat struggle in the morgue, Nightbeat is able to push the green button... the activator for the carbon freezing chamber!! Using his last bit of strength, he pushes Nightboat into the misty freeze dungeon and presses the red button. "Give my regards to JAbber Le Hutt!" ONE HOUR LATER Jabber Le Hutt, Commander of the Junkion Station Shallow Space Six, pounds a hamfist on his desk. "Ooota goota, Nightbeat!" he says as Nightboat is wheeled into his office, frozen in a block of carbonite. NOW: Nightbeat draws his space revolver and attempts to shoot Nightboat right in the anchor! SOME TIME AGO Hot Spot glares daggers at Ratchet. "Why would I need an Inferno disguise?! What are you trying to insinuate?!" Ratchet sighs. "Look, sometimes we just might need a backup copy of Inferno, and Grapple's Space-Texas accent sounds about as authentic as Spike saying he wants to marry Carly. So just let me install the Inferno disguise chip, okay? Because if I don't do it, I might get some grouchy, ill-tempered replacement who'll do it for me." "Someone replace you, Ratchet? Ha! That'll be the day! All right, do it up." NOW Disguised as Zombie Inferno, Hot Spot moves amongst the Junkions. Soundwave glares at Broadcast for a moment, then raises his concussion rifle up at the Junkion--and quickly determines that even if he hits, Cinderblock will still land on him! So Soundwave instead dives to the ground away from the heavy falling object. He grunts as he lands against the prickly bits of scrap that's everywhere, but he seemed to make it ok. And of course, he doesn't even have time to stand up before another Junkion comes at him! Only one thing to do... "Americon: Eject. Operation: Hugs." So Americon pops out and flies straight at Qua-Ran. Reverting to robot mode, Americon holds his arms out wide, asking, "Wait, I am not sure if it is OK for TWO MEN to hug each other... IN AMERICA!" Ignoring him, Soundwave brushes himself as he stands up. He looks at the construction site for a few moments... hm... strange. Cyclonus apparently catches the snapping sound of Sharky's snapping claws before he spins around, delivering an elbow blow to Barnakill's face before swinging his sword to attempt to slide it between Sharky's clawed hands...or at least slice some of the sharpened teeth free. If Cyclonus does manage to get the sword stuck between Sharky's claws he'll then push upward his sword to smash the flat of the blade into Sharky's face. Rodimus Prime grunts as Kwis-atz catches him off-guard with a sonic blast, knocking him right off his feet and into a cushiony pile of junk. "Ngh," he mutters, rubbing his helmet and drawing his photon eliminator rifle. "Sorry, pal. I'm the only Messiah around here." He fires at the Junkion's knees in an attempt to blow them out and disable him without any permanent damage. "Bill me later," Rodimus Prime quips. "Look inward, Prime, to that dark place where you dare not go! You'll find me there!" shouts Kwiz-Ats defiantly as he crawls away to look for something to fix his legs with. As the microwaves pulsate from Microslave's chest, Scourge continues to keep his vice-like grip around the Junkion's neck, the red claws of his thumb sinking deep into the throat. With a labored pull, he hisses like a feral animal, attempting to rip the head right from the shoulders that it mantles. Decapitation is the quickest way to be rid of this obtacle so that the Sweep Commander may resume in his bombardment of the designated facilities. Rock'N'Roll Express moves back up towards Soundwave, "Hop on... I'm going to need you to keep firing at the decoys and I'm going to crash straight into the factory if I can. I might be able to take down the shields." His sides are starting to get pelted by Junkions from all over. "Seriously, I need to do this as soon as you can... if it works, we go home." The little engine that could starts chugging his engine. Cinderblock crashes to the ground heavily, throwing up a plume of dust and debris, but missing Soundwave. But then the giant block starts to move horizontally, chasing rather quickly after the Decepticon! Nightboat transforms to robot mode, clutching his anchor in pain. "That hurt!" he squeaks shrilly. "You'll never take me alive detective. I'll detect you under the table, I'll take photos of your every move and I'll wear a little facemask so I will be you!" He leaps to the ground, running away towards the protection of the Juice Shack, that is still covered by a forcefield Microslave's head pops off with a squeak as Scourge continues his assault. Unfortunately this releases deadly microwave radiation from the neckhole! How can our heroic huntsman survive? Marissa continues fighting Junkions, etc etc. The Colonel takes note of Wreck-Gar. "Don't make me do this, Wreck-Gar," Marissa says, getting into a defensive stance. Marissa's a nimble fighter, but the Warthog slows her down a touch, and it's enough for Wreck-Gar to close the distance and swing the axe. The weapon buries itself in Marissa's chest, cutting through the armour. Marissa's eyes widen, but thank God the blade failed to penetrate deep enough to hit her body. Desperate to get the Junkion leader (or the rightful Junkion leader, as the case may be) off her back, Marissa aims the laser bazooka at point blank range and tries to blast Wreck-Gar away from her. Galvatron beats back the Junkions from around himself (he is now encircled by a small heap of broken Junkions), squints at Cyclonus and fires a beam through the Barnakill attached to him, to help free Cyclonus for the task he's been assigned. Talk about close-fire missions. It is then that Zombie Inferno reveals his true colors. "Or he can look in the scrap-heap," the encrypted Hot Spot spouts, reaching down to lift up Kwiz-Ats' broken body and tear him asunder. Luckily, ripping Junkions in half doesn't kill them! It just hurts a super-duper lot. "Junkions, I have betrayed you! I was never hy,Zombie Inferno) -- he's somewhere in Autobot City posing as the /real/ Inferno! It is actually I, Hot Sp--" Hot Spot's speech is cut off by Junk Dogg doing a drive-by on him with a Galactic Uzi, behind the wheel of Six-Fo. Kup winces as the mines continually pepper the hull with explosions, but deftly keeps her in the air. That is, until a sandworm erupts from the sea of scrap, tail swinging straight for the shuttle. "Sweet sassy molassy!" Kup cries, jerking upwards on the controls. Ol' Rusty groans in protest, but is unable to escape the thrashing of the robeast. The tail scores a deep gouge along the belly of the shutle, ripping out an armor plate and disabling one bank of guns. Kup grits his teeth. "Dr_Hidalgo.exe, you old cad!" he growls. "Don't make me do this! You're like a son to me!" AEONS AGO: "Fetch, boy! Go on, fetch!" A young (relatively) Kup launches an I-Beam towards the horizon, panting with the effort. The ground beneath his feet folds upwards, rocks jutting towards the sky in a straight line beneath the I-Beam's trajectory. As the projectile begins its descent, a (relatively) small robotic worm BURSTS from the ground, helljaws opening to capture the I-Beam before it can hit land. A hideous screaming moan of joy escapes the creature, before it makes its awkward, wriggling way back to Kup over land. The old adventurer smiles, reaching up to toussle Dr_Hidalgo.exe's hair. "There's a good boy!" he cries. "I've got a present for you, Dr_Hidalgo.exe!" The worm weaves back and forth, excitedly. Kup laughs, pulling... a top hat from subspace. He puts it on top of the worm's head, quickly welding it in place. "There you go! Now you look a proper gentleman." Laughing and burbling, the two friends ride off into the twin sunsets. NOW Kup looks broken up as he punches a series of commands into the command console. A single, glowing pearl of energon escapes the corner of his eye. "I... I'll miss ya, buddy," he whispers, before dropping his special Anti-Sandworm Bomb on the worm. "See you on the flipside... maybe by then, you'll forgive me!" Vad-Er breathes heavily and turns on his energy sword. "Junk-Troopers, come with me." Nor-Ris says, "Microsoft has released a new Anti-virus removal tool called Chuck Nor-Ris. The tool dares the virus to enter the machine." as he moves over to where Rodimus Prime is and tries to fight him. Sharky is distracted by Hot Spot's words. "What!? Zombie Inferno isn't here?" he gasps, before Cyclonus strikes him, sending him spinning out of control to the ground. Likewise, Galvatron's shot and Cyclonus's sword hurt Barnakill enough to unlatch him, tumbling him out of control In a fiery burst, explosions blossom along Dr_Hildago.exe's underside and the top-hatted sandworm crashes to the ground, a tear in one optic. "Whhhhhhy?" he cries sadly. But don't worry kids, this is the second time he's died this week (Quickswitch brutally murdered him earlier) Shaking off the pain, NightBeat plunges his arm elbow-deep into a pile of rusty junk-entrails, in order to retrieve his shotgun. Unfortunately, Shai-Gai comes out from behind a secret door, and throwns a turnip at Nightbeat. The cyber-turnip his Nightbeat in the back of the head. Shai-Gai's little black hole of a mouth quivers, "War-T and Moussar will be most pleased with my victory... magic carpet, away!" A magic carpet picks up Shai-Gai and whisks him off to world 2, where the music is better. Cyclonus is free! And he has orders! He turns himself to face the construction site, kicking in his bootjets, before blazing away from his two former Jukion opponents as he transforms into his spacecraft mode and heads in the indicated direction. The computer generated image appears on Cyclonus's radar as he moves full speed toward the structure before letting lose at it with lasers and missiles in a lovely and colorful display of fireworks. Cyclonus's missiles impact on the Construction site and... nothing happens. Junkions keep working away, and the site still stands, as if nothing had touched it. Though... there is a slight flicker in the air as the missiles impact harmlessly on the ground. As if it were... some sort of hologram... Soundwave turns in time to see that damnable Cinderblock pursuing him still, falling at him horizontally against all laws of physics!!! (Or maybe he has wheels under there?) "I am having my own difficulties, Junkion! Rrrrnngh!" He braces himself for the unavoidable impact, and Cinderblock smashes into his outstretched arms. Soundwave digs his feet into the junk, and the two combatants slide across the surface of the planet for a good long distance. Meanwhile, Americon is punching Que-Ran in the head as he hugs him. "This is how real AMERICAN men hug each other!" Rodimus Prime pushes up out of the junk pile with one arm, grunting in response to see seeing Kwis-atz get bluthced by Hot Spot. "Thanks, Hot Spot. We need to regroup with the others -- Hey!" He shouts as Hot Spot gets gunned down like a robotic fireman version of Tupac. "It's ON!" He snarls, kneeling down and blasting at the getaway car's tires with his rifle. PCHOW. PCHOW PCHOW. Cinderblock doesn't have wheels, he just doesn't believe in gravity. The huge Junkion keeps falling horizontally towards Soundwave booming "CRUSH!" He slows down as the Decepticon tries to stop him though, but very very slowly Six-Fo's tires blow out, sending Junk Dogg crashing out of his top-down lack of a roof. Transforming from a Chevy Impala into a robot, Six-Fo opens fire on Rodimus as Junk Dogg transforms into a Maybach. Hot Spot staggers to his feet. "Rodimus... I think I know... how to distract the Junkions... cover me, I'm heading for the construction site..." Scourge feels the release as Microslave's head rips free from the body. He also feels the heightened levels of microwaves that are released upon dismemberment. "Argh!" Too bloodthirsty to have noticed the torso of the Junkion releasing deadly radiation to his own torso, Scourge shrieks at his somewhat drooping paint and charred center. His face is also suitably burned from the nearness of the beheaded form unleashing a vertical stream. "Slag!" He kicks the form away from him, head still in his hands. Wreck-Gar charges forth, and the axe gets the mark it needs on Marissa, burying itself into the armour. "Hahah! It seems like you are outmatched-" And before he can continue on with his no doubt long winded tyrade of various things.. well.. the laser bazooka comes up, towards him, point blank. "GADZOOKS Watson! The plot thickens!" And the Junkion leader is blasted, the armor falling off as he vanishes within the junky surface, falling to pieces. But in the end.. that's never a good sign. From behind Marissa, he reforms, junk attached, new junk, where old had been blasted off. "What is a Junkion? A Junkion is two parts juice, three parts courage, and four parts GEEERONIMOOOO-JONES SMITH!" Marissa might hear him before she seems him.. and that's fine for him. He's looking to wound and move on. There's alot of them here. The Gauss rifle unloads a few shots to the back of her, aiming to imbed a few! ONE DAY AGO: The Robotic Bounty Hunter known as Axer stands in the palace (office) Of Jabber Le Hutt. Axer puts his hand on the frozen carbonite block that is Nightboat. "W'e'll free you soon, sweetie," Axer says. As he pushes the 'dethaw button,' he tears off his mask to reveal... Moonracer! "Now you're free, Nightbeat, and we can get back to work... oh, man... you're not Nightbeat... you have an anchor!" "Can't... see... Nightbeat? Nightbeat? Where?!" says Nightboat, knocking Moonracer into Dr_Hidaglo_Sr.exe's pit in the sand. In Jabber's office. NOW: Nightbeat rubs his hea dand hefts the turnip, ready to throw it at the next Junkion to cross him. "Silence! I kill you!!" screams Qu-Ran as he lights his fuses and gets ready to explode, "Wait! Wait! Before I go meet Allah, did anyone say that the virgins I will be getting are female?" Krystal disembarks from the Autobot Shuttle as all-out ugliness ensues outside. It's all the mental chaos that has taken a bit to sort out. Hitting the ramp at a run, the whine of her plasma rifle sounding in her ears, she heads towards Marissa. "Colonel!!" she shouts, witnessing with horror the slice of Wreck-Gar's axe, her blast, and his uncanny reformation in the blink of an eye. More Junkions start to swarm out of passages, like ants but bigger and robots. One of them, Mar-Mite, a Junkion wearing a bowler hat, lunges at Nightbeat, his gun shooting a sticky black substance at the Detective. "What ho, its nearly time for Doctor Who, semicolon vee!" he shouts Galvatron is wading through Junkions towards the juice stand Soundwave and Broadcast are working on; he doesn't have Rodimus' finesse, but then he also doesn't care about how badly he hurts anyone. They wash against him as if they were a sea of crazy robots made out of discarded nuts and bolts and 1982 Chevy Impalas and bicycle wheels, and he was the Rock of F'in Gibraltar. "Soundwave, where is that frequency? Have you completed your analysis of the forcefield?" he demands. Cyclonus is still firing wrathily on the Junkion's construction facility. Nightbeat is absorbed by black goo when the turnip explodes, because when turnips come into contact with that black goo, Nightbeat is frozen in carbonite. Marissa feels like it's ice rushing through her veins as the heavy laser blast slams into Wreck-Gar as he falls and vanishes into the junky ground of Junk. Her intellect tells her that Wreck-Gar can take that strike and laugh it off. Her intellect also tells her that this is for Wreck-Gar's own good. He needs to be contained so he and the rest of his race can be cured of the debilitating effects of the Juice. Her intellect continues to argue the issue, pointing out that Wreck-Gar would agree with her actions 100%. But despite all this, shooting your friend in the face with a bazooka at full point from point blank range is enough to make someone take pause. "Wreck? Wreck-Gar?" Marissa calls out. The Warthog armoured Colonel reaches down and rumages around the junk, trying to fish Wreck out. She doesn't find him; he finds her, rising up behind Marissa while she tries to pull him out of the wreckage he fall into. Her suit's proximity alarms go off even as Krystal shouts at her. Marissa turns, but only makes it half way before the heavy slugs slam into her suit. The plate armour is punctured in several spots. Red lights flash across Marissa`s HUD while damage klaxons go off. The Warthog falls back, and Marissa activate's the suits transformation sequence. Rather than falling on her ass, Marissa falls on the Warthog's tank mode's hover systems. The tank's upper turret swivels around towards Warthog. Two missiles are pointing directly at him. "I'm so sorry, Wreck-Gar," Marissa mutters, activating the firing sequence and launching the twin rockets. Soundwave strains mightily against Cinderblock, but the heavy Junkion's advance can only be slowed, and not stopped completely! And yet little does the Junkion know that Soundwave has been leading him into a ravine all along! Soundwave is pushed over the edge first, of course, but he maintains his exact same position thanks to judicious use of anti-gravity. Once Cinderblock goes over the edge however... WHOOOOSH. Soundwave cackles as he watches the Junkion hit the bottom in a plume of cartoonish smoke. Then Galvatron yells at him. Er, oops. "I... my scans were unexpectedly delayed, Lord." He aims his scanner at the (now more distant) field protecting the Juice machine... "Ah, excellent..." Meanwhile, Americon grits his robo-teeth as he glares into Que-Ran's optics. "Even better! The virgins are AMERICANS!" And so he grabs Que-Ran's torch and sticks it into the bombs on his chest!!! "TODAY IS OUR INDEPENDENCE DAY!" he cries triumphantly. At Soundwave's lasery-scanner thing, the field surrounding the Juice Shack flickers and fails, leaving the shack vunerable. As this happens, dozens of Junkions run towards it, to protect it As Rodimus Prime provides cover fire, Hot Spot transforms into firetruck mode, running Junk Dogg and Six-Fo off the road in the process. He plows through any resistance, because he's a fire truck and they're the Crash Test Dummies, and turns on his sirens as he pulls up to the construction site. "Okay, Junkions!" he shouts. "This is the Fire Inspector, here to make sure your building project is up to code!" Cyclonus snarls to himself as he, along with all the other Decepticons, have seemingly been suckered. He banks sharply to the right in a tight circle, leveling out, before heading back toward the Juice Shack that has been a focus of so much effort and trouple. He begins to unload various forms of ammunition at the advancing Junkions to reduce them to their basic components. Galvatron waves Soundwave aside as he transforms, not caring of course about any Junkions which may be between himself and the Juice Shack, the (apparent) cause of all this trouble. Galvatron transforms into his artillery mode, to bring his heavy weapons to bear. As Hot Spot gets near the site, he will find that instead of crashing through things, he simply... drives through them. The Cineplex construction site seems to be some sort of hologram, the work going on like a gigantic stageplay. How odd. The wounded shuttle continues its aerial battle, engaging the Junkion Hawkmen as well as the Sweeps and Seekers. Smoke rises from the ruined ventral section, but the laser barrage continues from the wings and dorsal turrets. "I ain't done yet!" Kup shouts in defiance. One wing-mounted turret swivels as the field goes down, sending heavy artillery towards the Juice Shack. Hot Spot says, "Uh, guys." Kup says, "What's up, Hot Spot?" Hot Spot says, "This Cinaplex is... not... really real? Either Transformers have ghosts, which is patently ludicrous and can be taken off the table immediately, or I'm driving through holograms." THOOOOOOOM goes the fusion artillery piece, a purple beam of energy slicing out of the pulsing orange barrel and imploding the Junkions it passes through on its way to the Juice Shack! Kup says, "Well, I wouldn't be so quick to discount ghosts, but." Kup says, "In this case, it's PROBABLY holograms." As the last of the Junkion aerial force that moved to intercept the Sweeps are dealt with, the Huntsmen rendezvous with Scourge. Microslave's head still in hand, he snarls. "Follow me. Destroy anything that stands in our way." They acknowledge with a mere nod. The Sweep Lord transforms back into a Sweep Craft, the others of his wing do so in turn. Together, they blast off in formation once more. Hot Spot says, "Has any one seen Hound lately? I hope he's not mixed up on Juice and somehow involved in this... he's a pretty at-risk type, being so sensitive." Kup says, "More likely it's Zounds, the Junkion holologist." Boom! Qu-Ran explodes. Parts of him remain together. Hot Spot says, "Well, I'm trying to use my Space GPS to find out where these holograms are coming from, but the little hologram-generator icon hasn't appeared on the tiny map yet." Hot Spot says, "So I'm gonna keep driving into them." Wreck-Gar is far from enjoying it. They had assaulted their world. All of them. But in the end.. Wreck-Gar can't help himself for the moment. And he would agree. This is not the way to run something. This is not the way at all, especially with what unneeded sacrifices that were made. And right now. He's making another friend an enemy. It's not what should happen. As Wreck-Gar charges forth, towards Marissa, the Junkion leader tries to spring onto the falling back EXO-suit, but the twin missiles, pointed at him, allow him to get close.. perhaps an inch, before being blasted back, junk clattering against the tank as he's blown away from the force. He can shrug much off. But he had fought Galvatron a day before. He was in no condition for battle, so soon. But crashing into the planet, Wreck-Gar rises once more. "Bad boys bad boys, what you gonna do... when Wreck-Gar shows up to put the smack down on your twisted transistor. Invading my planet.. kidnapping my fellows Junkions.. I will not have it! I will not have it with a mouse, I will not have it with Jane's blouse! I will not have this action now, and I will end it, here and now! No green eggs or ham come to rocks w-" And then Wreck-Gar hesitates, the decelerator laser aimed up towards Marissa.. but not fired. He can't think of something. Something important. What caused this all again, to change? A sudden change.. he is absent minded, junk minded more like it, but the brief lack of notice well.. Marissa has some time. Krystal frowns at the display within her Talon. Marissa's quick maneuver may have saved her ass, but she took a hell of a beating to manage it. "Colonel...what's your status?" she queries, desperately scanning the battlefront and looking for a useful place to direct her focus. She has to take the time...moving to fast means some important detail goes unnoticed... The Juice Shack is hit again and again by waves of artillery, from the Autobot shuttle, and from the mighty Galvatron himself. Slowly the walls creak, and then as one, the lower part falls away, leaving the insides open for all to see. And inside. Inside... ...inside are stacks of boxes of Juice, and a microphone, hanging from the ceiling. Crowded around the microphone are... all six of the Seacons! - Snaptrap, Nautilator, Overbite, Seawing, Skalor and Tentakil! Overbite is currently grasping the microphone in his hand, speaking into it. "OooOo kill the Decepticons, especially Galvatron! Kill them, blutch them from behind! Drink more Juice, it is delicious!" "Uh guys, Nautilator says as he is the only one who seems to have noticed that the shack has exploded. "Shut up Nautilator!" Overbite snaps. "Its not your turn ye-... ah..." The Seacons all turn to see that their little ruse has been exposed! Hot Spot continues to drive around Holo-Cinaplex, trying to detect some kind of source for these ghostly images. "And now..." growls Galvatron, tracks grinding on the dirt as he swivels to traverse his gun barrel. "...traitors will receive their due! Soundwave, get down!" Galvatron strikes Rock'N'Roll Express with Fusion Cannon (excessive output). Rock'N'Roll Express falls to the ground unconscious. Soundwave glances first at Galvatron, then at a certain Junkion, then dives to the ground, half-buried in bits of scrap. "Unft. Yes, Lord," his somewhat muffled voice replies. Americon is blasted skyward by Que-Ran's self-immolation. "I'll see you again in Americaaa....." THOOOOOOOM! Smoke rises from Galvatron's barrel after the second planet-cracking shot. "Did you really think I would ally myself with a literal piece of moist garbage such as yourself, Junkion? You are a very tower of idiocy to believe so for even an instant!" Cyclonus comes to land beside Galvatron as the juice shack disintergrates, shortly followed by the Rock'N'Roll express, before turning to look at the remains of the Juice Shack with his sword held ready in his hand. "I still do not see what all this was for, Lord Galvatron. Perhaps the Junkions simply have a more scrambled neural net then we imagined." Galvatron strides forward with cannon steaming, excess radiation still shimmering off of it in waves, like heat lines over hot asphalt. "Seacons, you will receive the same unless you set aside this nonsense at ONCE and BOW to your RIGHTFUL LORD." It's been years since Marissa has been genuinely nervous during a battle. Having fought Decepticons for multiple decades, all of the combat action has begun to blur together. Hell, she's practically sleep walked through battles before, having been steeled against the possible (some might say inevitable) consequences of the fight against the Decepticons. But against Wreck-Gar - against a good, if bizarre, friend, Marissa feels the nervousness she hasn't felt since near the beginning of her career. Releasing a breath she didn't realize she was holding as Wreck-Gar's charge is barely stopped by the missiles, Colonel Faireborn hopes this puts the Junkion leader down for the count so he can finally receive medical aid for what's happened to him. They saved Lee-Zard once he was removed from the Juice's influence - they can do the same to the others. "Power fluctuations throughout the grid, Krystal," Marissa snaps off the report, "Numerous chest puncture wounds." Marissa prepares to engage in evasive maneuvers (such as a hover tank can) while Wreck raises his decelerator laser, but the attack doesn't come. Marissa uses the advantage she's been given, but not to strike back. Activating the transform sequence again, the Warthog suit returns to its upright robotic form. "Come on, Wreck-Gar! You can fight this. Look!" Marissa sweeps an armoured arm over to where the Juice Shack once was, and the Seacons now are. "They're the ones behind this. The Seacons are Quintesson agents. You don't have to fight me, Wreck-Gar." Marissa's little speech makes her particularly vulnerable, however, should Gar take the shot he has available to him. As the Sweeps continue providing cover fire to give Galvatron space, one of the crafts breaks off from point. Transforming as he descends down, Scourge lands kneeling slightly behind Cyclonus. He stands with his snarl, red eyes fixated on the Seacons. An accusing red claw points in the direction of the traitors. "Bow before your Lord before the sweeps make you!" "OH YEAH!"? Shouts Skalor, waggling a finger at Galvatron. "Don't shout at us, or we'll go all God Neptune on your aft!" Snaptrap slaps Skalor hard. "Its still /Piranacon/ you fool. I don't know where you guys have got this God Neptune idea from. Nautilator, stay behind and man the microphone, Seacons, form PIRANACON!" The Seacons, all apart from Nautilator, rise up into the fearsome form of Piranacon, who looms above the battlefield, energy sword in hand, swiping it at Autobots and Decepticons alike. Meanwhile, poor Nautilator, who rather likes being part of a gestalt, even if it is just as the gun, stays in the remains of the shack, at the microphone that sends instructions to the Junkion's juice-addled brains. "Junkions! Defend the shack! The Seacons are your friends, everyone else are your enemies!" The shuttle's broadcaster crackles, briefly. <> Krystal curses silently as the Colonel exposes herself; but, in the end, she'd have done it herself, in the same situation. It's gutsy, displaying one of the very traits that puts a morale being in danger...believing in someone else. As Marissa takes the chance, Krystal draws a breath and closes her eyes briefly, focusing on the momentarily baffled Junkion. Contact would make this so much easier, but perhaps if she moves in...the closer she gets, the easier it is to open her mind to a target...if she can just find the right way *in* to Wreck-Gar's mind, she may be able to help sort it out... Cyclonus begins to step forward, sword raised, as Skalor shakes his finger at Galvatron as he scowls at them. "Do not speak that way to your Lord or you will be turned into a state where you would be no good to a microrecylcing unit." His words, however, are cut off as the Seacons merge into their gestalt form. "This was not a possiblity I considered." Soundwave joins the other members of Decepticon High Command, and peers questioningly into the shack they had been using. And he gets an idea... "My Lord," he mutters, and points at Nautilator. "If we were to acquire that microphone, perhaps we could control the Junkions?" He nods to the Unicronians. At Nautilator's words, Junkions from all over the planet swarm to defend Piranacon and the shack. Guys like Banquo, Gamblor, Doctor Bong, #1 FUNCTION NOT FOUND ERROR OH GOD and more, all attacking whoever wants to get close! Galvatron flips up a panel on his right arm. "My power levels are too low, Cyclonus," Galvatron asides, quietly. "Destroying the juice stand and the Junkion traitor has left me without enough fuel to break Pirahnacon apart." Cyclonus is about to respond to Galvatron but, as he hears the sound of rampaging Junkions coming at them, turns around and leaps forward to slash at the front ranks across the middle with his sword. "If only that cowardly slime Octane had arrived...but of course he would never dare to risk himself on the field of battle!" Scourge blinks as Soundwave makes his suggestions. "I will have the Sweeps maintain the perimeter." His eyes shift over to the amassing number of Junkions rushing to close the gap. "Though that might be easier said than done." The Huntsmen, outside of Scourge, still circle the air. They do their best to keep the rushing crowds at bay but are strained by the overwhelming numbers despite their volley of blasts. The leader of the Sweep pack looks to the Gestalt, Pirahnacon standing ominously in the background. Scourge's teeth and fangs are bared but he makes no move as he awaits the orders from Galvatron. Galvatron thinks about the situation for a moment with his lieutenants. "Pirahnacon is immensely powerful... but he cannot fly, and once he merges, he is a blind destroyer until he demerges... IF he still has the timer that our Snaptrap installed in him. Therefore, if we withdraw, Pirahnacon will wreak the havoc we intended, without loss on our side!" He raises his hand and shouts to all the Decepticons: "DECEPTICONS... RETREAT!" Of everything Wreck-Gar has seen, and been through. Mixed signals had not been the most common. Of course, there were the the odd spastic thoughts here and there, the random jumping of thoughts, some getting lost, others tied. But that was the junkion way. You had to be a free thinker, and one that is able to see it from multiple ways. But he's never been actively torn between it. Perhaps the juice had leaked out. Perhaps he was strong enough to resist for a moment. And the laser falls from being pointed at Marissa. It's slowly dropped, almost returning to his side before the Seacons cry out, or at least, Nautilator does, to defend the shack. His hand rises again, snapping up. Before his other pushes it down. "Must ... not.. give in!" He falls to a knee, weapons dropped for a moment, hands on his head. "Was it Professor plum .. in the .. observatory with the candle ... or was it Ms scarlet in the Foyer .. with the noose!?" He asks to no one. Krystal would, perhaps, be able to make it into Wreck-Gar's mind .. but it is much like the junkyard. There is everything, all over, but there is nothing that stands out to someone who is looking for nothing in particular.. much like the plant they are on. Standing once again, a slow, steady movement, Wreck-Gar turns towards the shack. Krystal would be able to enter his mind. But what he intends to do nearby the Juice stand .. help or harm, is a completely different story. "There is only one champion .. I wanna be a contender! Put me in the fight, coach, coach let me into the big game! I've got a heaping hankering for something, and I'm looking for some home styled cooking." Rock'N'Roll Express is smoldering. Heh. Freaking great. Cyclonus touches his wheels down on the rough surface of Junkion before snapping open his cockpit to permit Galvatron entry as he gives the retreat order. "As you command, my Lord." Scourge unleashes an otherworldly shriek like none other, similar to that of a feral beast or grinding blades of metal. The Sweeps immediately break off from their passes to the Junkion swarm and provide cover fire for Galvatron and the rest of the Command crew to make their exit. Scourge, himself, backflips and transforms. He hovers for a moment in Sweepcraft mode before his thrusters explode ina blinding light, rocketing him ahead of Cyclonus and Galvatron to clear a path. Piranacon roars in victory, shooting bolts of lasers at the retreating Decepticons. "COWARDS!" he shouts. "I AM INVINCIBLE!" The huge gestalt is swamped by Junkions, forming a shield around it, all shooting at the Decepticons Nautilator meanwhile wipes some robo-sweat off his brow. "Whew, close one!" he mutters as he sees Wreck-Gar approach. "Yes, Wreck-Gar, protect me, be my personal bodyguard! Helping your friends is good, and the Seacons are your friends!" Soundwave leaps upwards, leaving a behind a little trail of junk, firing down at the Junkions as he ascends. The explosive blasts knock several Junkions of their feet, and as he departs, Soundwave glances over at Piranacon. A pity they couldn't destroy them, too! Driving around holograms is giving Hot Spot nothin'. He's no closer to finding the emitter, and his Space GPS is giving him this "RECALCULATING ROUTE" every four seconds, insisting he's not on real roads because the Junkion freeway system changes roughly every five minutes or whenever someone declares a new road. A little icon of a smiling Wreck-Gar appears on his Space GPS screen, though, and he starts driving toward that -- only to see the big block on the screen labeled 'PIRANACON,' too! "Well... here goes nothing," Hot Spot says to no one as he gathers speed, pointed right for the Seacons' collective right leg. Weaving through the fire from the Junkions and Piranacon, faithful Ol' Rusty continues its attack. A volley of missiles detaches from the base of the wings, igniting and streaking towards the towering combiner. Lasers sweep up and downs its body, sending Junkions flying from their path. Inside, Kup's expression is grim. He's already had to put one good friend out of commission today. "I'll be DAMNED if we're losing the Junkions, too!" he says hoarsely, ramming the throttle up to full. "Let's dance, ugly!" Galvatron leaps into Cyclonus' cockpit and slams the canopy shut behind him. "I will take pleasure in imagining what Pirahnacon will do to everything on this planet that he can reach before his timed de-merging," he grumbles, wishing, perhaps, that he had just beaten the traitor Junkion up a bit instead of blowing him to smithereens. Marissa stands in front of Wreck-Gar, with the laser pointed at her. The gash caused from the axe strike leaves a big enough chink in her armour that Wreck-Gar would likely end her military career if he took the shot. Colonel Faireborn's breathing becomes shallow and quick while the Junkion wrestles with his inner demons. She holds out a mechanical hand for Wreck-Gar as he falls to one knee, offering it to help him back up. Come on, she silently urges the eccentric warrior, you're better than this. Marissa's no roboticist; she has no idea if the Juice leaked out of Wreck-Gar, or the obvious attempts by Krystal to peer into his mind are affecting his judgement at all. Behind her, Piranacon rises upwards and roars triumphantly. Although within the behemoth's weapons range, Marissa is counting on the others to keep him busy while she sorts things out with Wreck-Gar. Wreck-Gar gabbers on about seemingly nonsensical topics, but the Colonel gets the impression that he just might be coming back out of it. Wreck-Gar rises, and the Warthog's hand is there to help him do so. "Oh thank God," Marissa mutters to herself with the suit's speaker off. "Glad to have you back, Wreck-Gar," she then says with obvious relief. "Third and long in the fourth quarter, Gar, and we have an oversized fish filet on the menu for us to take care of," Marissa adds. She then immediately winces. "...Talking TeeVee was never my strong point," she admits, falling in line next to Wreck-Gar to assist him with his mission against the Juice stand. Cyclonus engages his engines and takes off, quickly accelerating through the atmosphere, as he circles around the circumfrence of the planet for a last look at Pirahnacon. "With luck, My Lord, they will destroy each other...and perhaps their world will shread itself apart." Piranacon swats angrily at the shuttle as it flies about him, shooting lasers. Some Junkions, the big hitters such as the gigantic Doctor Bong and the powerful Banquo take to the air to tackle the shuttle in an attempt to protect the gestalt. And then Hot Spot hits his legy, and the gestalt staggers, before powerful optics glare at him, and his sword slashes down. "I AM MASTER OF JUNK!" he roars in triumph Krystal's brow furrows and she feels her jaw clench, her effort doubling as she inches carefully toward the faltering Wreck-Gar. Her pulse is quickening with the exertion of finding a suitable, and the least uncomfortable, way to penetrate the Junkion's chaotic heap of a mind, but there's not time. As he suddenly begins to fight back, she plunges in with a silent apology. The scene around her is nearly obliterated and she suddenly has a rather (un)clear window into Wreck-Gar's mind. What the devil is she supposed to do, now? There is no rhyme, no reason...the proverbial needle in the haystack. "Stop," she murmurs from within, "Show me where to go..." She searches, in a seemingly fruitless manner, for the trigger point...the place where Wreck-Gar's thoughts are twisted and no longer rightfully his... "Slag!" Kup shouts as the Bong/Banquo AKA Bongquo tag team clamps onto the shuttle. He swiftly unbuckles his harness, then slaps his hand onto a green button. "Countermeasures are GO!" The hull of the ship immediately crackles with life, powerful voltages arcing across the orange space metal and electrifying the attackers. Unfortunately, this takes the power away from the lasers, and so Kup strides to the open hatch at the back, unslinging his musket laser, which against all logic fires acid pellets. The ancient adventurer takes a knee, swinging the weapon up to his shoulder and sighting down the aeons-old weapon's barrel. He nods, then holds up a thumb, testing windspeed. He nods again, and makes a slight adjustment to the weapon's position. Something that could possibly be a smile tugs futilely at the corner of his mouth. And, as the shuttle comes around the front of Piranacon again... he fires. fsssssss-THOOM! The mighty acid pellet, subduer of many an Ick-Yack and Gronklonk, lances out of the shuttle's hatch, making a beeline for Piranacon's eye. Marissa's hand had been taken.. but in the end, after rising Wreck-Gar walks up towards Predaking, seemingly fading in and out. It's still a wrestling.. which continues on as Marissa explains. Thrid anlong in fourth quater, eh? And the fish filet. "We'll need.. to invite the family." He says, somewhat weakly, before he bellows, running forth towards Piranacon, and yelling to him. Did they lose him!? "You got it bambino! I belong to the family, the family protects it's own!" He cries, to Piranacon, while moving towards him, heading within the line of Junkions with little trouble. He was one of their own. A wall of Junk between all the others, and the wall. Krystal, inside his mind, would see many things. It fades in and out, and the obliterated scene may become clearer, but first, it becomes dark, far more unclear.. but as she murmur to show her where to go, she's lead to.. a lever. And a cartoony sign that says 'Pull Me', pops out from the pile of junk. There is only light about the sign, the rest of the 'mind' dark. To fight against the juice, which he had partaked of, would require more than he had, simply. Except for others. His path brings him into the Junkion pile, and he can get his arm raised, towards Nautilator and his microphone. When Krystal does what the mind asks, to just interact, get him to push that lever inside, he can free this. And before the juice would fully over take him, he makes his intentions known, heavy gauss rounds firing the moment Krystal would assist him. "And that family... is my family! It'll stay all in the family.. and we're moving on up! Wreck-Gar says, "It's the end of the line, Piranacon... and this is your stop! You're getting on that plane whatever you like it or not! SHAZAM!" Piranacon falls back, hand to his optic as the acid eats into it, screaming like a banshee as he does so, missing Wreck-Gar running past... Nautilator doesn't miss him however. "Oh thank Primus, its a bit hairy out... OH PIT, WHY ME?" he screams as the Microphone in his hands explodes from Wreck-Gar's shot. And with that, with the control unit destroyed, every single Junkion affected by the Juice will suddenly find themselves... free! Galvatron looks out the side of the canopy as Cyclonus banks over the planetoid, powering away from the ground with his nuclear pulse engines. "We can only hope, Cyclonus. But then, how could one destroy a trash heap? Perhaps the Junkions are their own worst punishment." Rock'N'Roll Express is in just as good shape as Kurt Cobain was... about five minutes before he died. Cyclonus scoffs as he straightens out before beginning to speed away from the planet of Junk itself. "Not as much of a punishment to themselves as they are to the rest of the galaxy, My Lord." A FEW POSES AGO Hot Spot backs out of the way of the sword, only barely escaping TERRIBLE DEATH. He transforms into his robot mode, the Inferno disguise chip deactivated, and rethinks his strategy, his truck mode's front grill totally ruined from the impact, and his front windows shattered, exposing his Protectobot Matrix of Leadership. NOW Hot Spot's new strategy consists of firing his guns at Piranacon while running around. Piranacon splits as the acid continues to work its way into his head, the Seacons falling to the ground around them as they are swamped by angry Junkions. "Seacons retreat!" Snaptrap yells as they run towards the Juice Shack, which transforms into a Quintesson ship, slowly unscrewing itself from the ground. But not before Seawing leaps at Hot Spot, clutching for his Protectobot Matrix. "Miiiine!" he yells Colonel Faireborn spares a brief glance over at Krystal. The woman is concentrating, that much is clear. But what she's experiencing while trying to probe Wreck-Gar's mind is something Marissa can only wonder. She imagines it would be a lot more chaotic than trying to read... just about anyone else. Marissa walks along with the restored Junkion leader, idly checking the status of the laser bazooka on her left arm. The little green light tells her that it is ready to begin dealing death to those she points it at. She stands next to the junk pile, raising the bazooka in a syncronized fashion along with Gar, pointing it at Nautilator. Piranacon is going to regret going sans cannon this time around as heavy laser bolts join with Wreck-Gar's gauss rounds in trying to take out the devious Seacon warping the minds of innocent Junkions everywhere. Krystal grunts and squeezes her eyes shut with the vigorous concentration it is taking to wade through the tumult of ... whatever it is... in Wreck-Gar's mind. A veritable cacauphony of fantastical images assaults her mind's eye, winking in and out with the dizzying effect of a strobe light before it goes completely blank and that comical sign-and-lever gag appears. It shouldn't surprise her; in fact, she could almost smile at the predictability of the whole thing. "C'mon, Wreck-Gar...hang in there, and keep at it...There are friends we need to help...Let's sort through this..." As Seawing leaps at Hot Spot, the Protectobot leader tries to punch him away, using his time-tested 'punch someone in the face with his gigantic man-hands' technique -- but it fails, because Seawing is very fast and lethal like the briny depths! "NO! MY MATRIX!" Hot Spot screams, as Seawing grabs it away... until Hot Spot shoots him in the head and takes it back. "Phew. Last time I lost this, Blades took over the team, and I couldn't play my 'I've got the Protectobot Matrix' card to stop him." Rock'N'Roll Express lies limp. Inside him is the precious Animatrix that he was left to protect. Oh, if the fool only had known that the DVD did absolutely nothing to protect him, he would never have assumed to be the guardian of it. As Seawing is punched in the face, he scowls, transforming to his manta-ray form and flying away towards the Quintesson ship, that slowly takes off into the air, the laser fire of angry Junkions punctuating its rear as it makes orbit and escapes into deep space. Junk is saved! Hurray! The evil controlling Juice is gone, and everyone can return to normal! Yay! (Apart from the question of what the purpose of the stealing of material /was/....) OME YEARS AGO "And... you want me to make you a fake Matrix that looks like your head /why/?" Swerve asks, confused. "Oh my Primus it's like herding cyber-cats sometimes, it really is. I figure if I can get them to buy that it's a real Matrix of some kind, they'll be more motivated and not whine about needing to recharge or whatever," Hot Spot says, arms folded. "Okey-dokey," Swerve says. NOW Swerve was /never seen again/. And then suddenly, the Junkions turn. That is, turn to their old selves. Wreck-Gar struggles only so much.. and with Krystal's help, is able to retain himself.. yet while he is not unable to continue fighting, the Seacons begin to retreat. "COWARDS! MAY YOU BEFRIEND DAVY JONSES LOCKER, 'an all of the dirty laundry in it!" Krystal pulls him through, and Marissa sees that the Junkion leader is not alone. But after all, Wreck-Gar turns, as they flee, towards a fallen member. "What you have done will not be forgotten.. What you have done will stay etched on this planet, and the rebuilding must begin anew." The Rock'N'Roll Express, shot through by Galvatron, catches Wreck-gar's eye. "Uno momento, por favor, senorita." He asks of Marissa. Krystal's gaze spreading out of the mind, clearing, unclouded again .. what she would see is much.. and for now.. Wreck-Gar leaning nearby the Rock'N'Roll Express, getting to fixing. "Hold in there buddy, help is on the way.. we got the junk, now we just an emergency Junk infusion!" From a pile of Junk, Leet appears, carrying a bulky case. He approaches Hot Spot. "'rry for stealin' all your stuff" he mumbles, not really sounding like he means it. "Here's your cog back, if you want it. It was gonna be shipped off later" Wreck-Gar says, "It's gotta go. All sales final. Everything must go." Marissa lowers the laser bazooka as the Seacons flee. Smiling the whole way, Faireborn marches with Wreck-Gar back to Broadcast, covering the Junkion in case Galvatron or the other Decepticons try to take advantage of the Junkions while they're hurt and out. With the number of friendly Junkions on the planet, though, Marissa suspects Galvatron would get more than he bargained for. "Our pleasure, Wreck-Gar," Marissa says. She knows the Junkions would do the same for Earth were the roles reversed. "Is he going to be alright?" she asks in a concerned voice about Broadcast, though she's more focused on watching the Cons than she is examining Broadcast's wounds. Hot Spot takes the cog. "Thank you, Leet. I hope you realize now that drugs are /never/ the answer, and that theft is not, as Junkions commonly believe, a victimless crime." He points to the billboard nearby upon which is written 'THEFT IS A VICTIMLESS CRIME' with a picture of some Junkion guy giving a thumbs-up. Leet says, "Does this mean that tomorrow's raid on that totally sweet peace-loving planet is cancelled?" Wreck-Gar says, "If it's junk, it's ours baba-booey." Leet scratches his head. "I.. guess..." he mutters, looking at a little badge which says "Robbery ROCKS!" with a picture of all the Seacons in a photobooth group shot. He throws the badge on the ground and steps on it, High Noon style Wreck-Gar says, "But everything's on hold, pardon out dust. We need to make this place better again!" Ol' Rusty swoops around as the Seacons retreat. Hanging just outside the hatch, arm wrapped around a handhold, Kup allows himself a small smile. Then, he returns to the cockpit and gently lowers the wallowing beast of a shuttle to the ground, speaking softly to her under his breath as he does so. "There's a good girl. Easy, ol' Rusty. Easy. You're safe now." Kup exits the shuttle and picks his way through the junk towards the gathering of Autobots, humans and Junkions with a smile on his face. He slings the musket laser (which against all logic fires acid pellets) back behind his shoulder again, and throws out his arms in an expansive gesture. "Now THIS is what I call teamwork!" he crows. "Did you SEE that shot, lads?" he asks, clapping Hot Spot on the shoulder. "Why, I felt like I was only ten million again! What a rush." He smiles at Wreck-Gar as well. "Good to have you back, lad. When you get a cycle, could you be a pal and fix up Ol' Rusty? She's been through a lot today." Krystal's pulse begins to drop back into a normal range as she gently retreats from the recovered Junkion leader's mind. The actual scene around her, for the past several minutes having faded to a dim background image, now returns vividly...and it's a wonder she wasn't gunned down. She hadn't realized just how much wading through Wreck-Gar's thoughts would distract her from the outside world. Following the Colonel's lead, she scans the area nearby, senses alert for any remaining danger as the first faint flickers of relief begin to arise. Being clapped on the shoulder makes Hot Spot slug Kup in the arm joshingly in response, which might be a little too hard because he is freakishly strong and his arms are 24-inch pythons. "I'll say, Kup. Those Seacons will know better than to mess with us next time. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go help with the repair efforts -- I'm still good to walk, so I'm still good to weld." And so he does! It is a painstaking process to recover Broadcast, if only due to the amount of junk about him. As Marissa takes the tanks, Wreck-Gar focuses on healing the wounded. He, too, is sparking. Much like Marissa's chassis. But it is livable, for her. Broadcast is stabalized, and will be worked on through the night, like many. But as Marissa asks, he answers. "Only time will tell. You can't rush such a thing." And he seems to be slightly, if not completely, busy. As Kup comes up, Wreck-Gar faces him, standing once again. "It would be my pleasure, comrade! In our time of need you valiently swooped down to do battle against the forces of nogood and nastiness!" He proclaims. "Your ship will be old and trusted!" Good as new? Bah. Junk will do... but better. Really. Krystal retracts from Wreck-Gar's mind.. and it's alright. "But there'll be alot more to rebuild." He takes a step to look over the field, of broken Junkions. If the junk that covers the planet could any more be seen as a 'graveyard'.. this doesn't help it at all. "Collect and save." He orders the junkions. "Collect and save." Some begin to move out, to collect the wounded, the junk about.. and to save the Junkions. There will be much work. Marissa reaches up and taps several buttons on the forearm mounted computer of the Warthog. The Exo-suit lets out a wheezing sound as it shuts down. Its back opens up, and Marissa steps out, sweaty and tired, but otherwise no worse for the wear. With the Decepticons gone she's able to finally get a good look at the work the Junkion does on Broadcast. Retying her greying red hair back in a ponytail to keep it out of the way, she smiles at Kup's approach, giving him a respectful nod. The great thing about Kup is that he's able to make Marissa feel young again. "Sounds like we're staying here on Junk for a while until the shuttle gets repaired," she says, sounding like she's not upset at this in the least. "Maybe not the first choice of vacation spots in the galaxy, but it'll certainly do." Joking aside, she adds, "Plus we'll help with the rebuilding and repairs done, Wreck-Gar." Marissa looks out at the battlefield. It is practically a wasteland of destruction and junk. ...wait... it was like that /before/. "Ah... repairs, such as they are." Leet walks over to Broadcast and stamps on his head a bit. "Filtsy Traitsor!" he mutters before happily wandering off and helping with the reclaim effort. "Stealing is bad, don't do drug, m'kay!" he sings happily Wreck-Gar nods to Marissa as she slides out of the Warthog. Still stunned as he is, this is unfortunate.. all of it. "Any help you have will be gratefully accepted compadre. Mi planet es su planet. We could use an extra pair of hands around here.. and some working legs with them, if you get my drift! Ten hut Junkions! It's a long night ahead of us. Then another long day! And maybe another long night after that! But we will preservere.. and then PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999!" For within tradgedy there must be rebirth. AND PARTYING. Kup winces slightly at Hot Spot's enthusiastic rejoinder, and rubs a little at the struck shoulder. "Aw heck," he says with a grin. He looks over at Wreck-Gar and nods once. "Thanks Wreck-Gar. I know you'll take good care of the ol' girl." With that all said, Kup wanders off into the junk to help with the search and rescue efforts. Marissa offers a little salute to Wreck-Gar out of respect. "Glad to help." Other Junkions are probably dancing around and singing at Wreck-Gar's call for partying (Junkions party like no other race), but Marissa isn't one for such things. She heads off with Kup to join in with the S&R. Being comparatively small and has its advantages for such things. Krystal stands back, silently observing as the rebuilding and recovery process begins almost as instantly as the battle is over. The resilience of the Junkions causes a small smile to tug at the corners of her mouth, and she steers her exosuit towards the hull of the Autobot shuttle to power it down and find a place to be of use.